Secondary Power

[countgrimith]

So a tech doing an install was drilling out of the house to fish in RG6 for an install and accidently drilled into the conduit below the meter outside and luckily didn't drill into any wires but put about a 3mm score onto a black wire inside a protective cover, i noticed there are other nicks and indents on the wire cover from maybe fishing it down though the cond. Should a slight nick to the wire be a worry? the case has been sealed as well, thanks.

 

[NozSpark]

Are you saying that someone had drilled into and damaged a supply cable??

 

[Sidewinder]

More info please.

Also if this is the incoming mains, should RG6 not be positioned further away to eliminate interference.

 

[countgrimith]

yes there are 2 black cables and 1 white, basicially went through the conduit with a drill bit and scored a power supply cable very slightly, only a 3mm or so was skimmed of the cable.

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

It could be the supply cable or it could be the seperate earth brought in with TNS supplies that is normally black. Whats the diameter of the damaged cable ?

PS, sounds like a cable telephone/tv 'engineer' to me

 

[countgrimith]

I take it that the tech is very lucky to not have been electrocuted during those process

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 21:53 ---------- Previous post was made at 21:52 ----------

The cable diameter was about an inch or so think.

 

[NozSpark]

Doesn't matter that you only damaged it a little bit, you (your co.) has damaged someone elses property.

Firstly you need to find out who's it is and then you need to arrange to have it repaired (properly).

EVEN 3mm of damage to the cables insulation could lead to it becoming dangerous

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

EVEN 3mm of damage to the cables insulation could lead to it becoming dangerous

Yep, if it gets damp, it could take months or years but.............................................BANG

 

[kerching]

First day on site builder nicked service cable, no bang, no flash everything still working.

wrapped nick with tape, slit a plastic tube and fitted over tape covering

wrapped ends of tube with tape, buried and covered whole with ****

site was ok for 6 months

furouking great bang and flash

escape of smoke

Jointers arrived, said 'oh, looks like an old bit of damage' so repaired f.o.c.!

water had got into the cores which had a teeny weeny slit

I kept the damaged cable AND the bit that they pieced it out with...can post pics if anyone cares

All i am saying is, just coz you cannot see inner damage it does not mean that it is not present.... :coat

 

[batty]

On the job I did a while back the lad on the digger caught the main cable. I will admit it wasn't very far down in fact it was only just under the drive. They were going to just cover it over but i insisted they get it sorted. Lucky really because it had actually gone right through and shorted but had blown itself apart.

 

[M107]

I put a submain across a school carpark to the caretakers workshop, while digging the trench the caretaker mentioned that the mains services for the small close of 4 houses next door ran under the corner of the new workshops, he knew it was there because he was watching at the exact moment the builder had clipped the power cables with the side of the digger bucket.

The builder did the usual cover the nicked insulation with gaffer/duck/bodge tape & carried on with the footings............yes the services were now covered with concrete.

The new workshop goes up I do my first & second fix (pictures are on here somewhere) no problems.

Then 4 - 5 months later I'm working at another school & chatting to the maint caretaker who informs me the other schools workshop had been demolished & the builder was up for a fine & was been prosocuted by SSE & school. The cable he had clipped eventualy went bang resulting in the close of houses going on to a genny supply for a few days while the workshop was dug up for access to the cable.

I also some 7 years ago on a damp morning I went along on a fire call as an observer in a shop basement in Windsor, the incomming TP supply cable had exploded under the path outside with such force the cable acted like elastic and pinged back in both directions. The basement was mostly blast sooting around the point of entry to the basement & lots of smoke pilling in through the hole left in the wall. While outside the path had to be dug up as it was still buring underground.

Strange watching black smoke filter up around pathing slabs.

Reason for it going bang was put down to new hardcore & footpath being recently laid, most probably a fracture of the insulation whilst using a whacker plate & water got into it.

 

[Andy™]

I kept the damaged cable AND the bit that they pieced it out with...can post pics if anyone cares

go on then

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 08:42 ---------- Previous post was made at 08:35 ----------

few years ago (both at morrison), i got a call to a house after bricky hit a cable - he was making a hole through the wall for a vent. he was about 1mtr along the wall from the meter (underground supply). not somewhere i would have expected the cable to be. DNO digs hole in garden, finds feed & load to next door and joins them, ditching the second bit going to the cutout

before that, someone else on the job was drilling down the back of skirting board, and straight through feed to house. DNO turned up, went next door to 'isolate', came back, told him it was still live (radio etc still on). he pulls some slack, then cuts through cable destroying his fairly new looking cutters, which then isolated the supply for him.

 

[kerching]

Here you go then

 

[SteveT]

Here you go then

OUCH!!